Head of Junior School

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Book Week

Literature has taken centre stage across schools in Australia this week during Children’s Book Week and we have enjoyed bringing the joys of reading to the forefront of minds here at Redlands. In assembly this week, our Principal, Mr Corcoran shared the story of the first time he got ‘lost’ in a book, The Hobbit, and how that moment was one he remembers vividly and later influenced his decision to become an English teacher.

I am grateful to our Library team for driving this week’s activities and I have enjoyed being part of the author visits for our students; Louise Park for Yrs 3 & 4 and Reece Carter for Yrs 5 &6. I particularly enjoyed the way in which Reece involved the students in creating their own writing, with a practical writing workshop intertwined with some of his own journey as a writer.

For interested families, both authors have shared links to their books should students be keen to purchase any of their novels.

Louise Park

Reece Carter

Also in our assembly this week, our Library leaders presented this 2023 Children’s Book Council of Australia ‘Book of the Year’ awards and how our students had also voted. These books are in our own Arnold Library and I know are popular choices for our students.

We were also proud to celebrate 361 Junior School students (80%) completing this year’s Premier’s Reading Challenge including a 100% completion rate from Yr 3.

And finally, thank you to students and staff for embracing the opportunity to come dressed as a favourite book character or aligned to this year’s theme of Read, Grow, Inspire. We loved seeing the creations and vibrancy of colour on the day including our assembly!

Junior Music Festival Video

We are thrilled to share the professional video recording of the 2023 Junior Music Festival, A Night With The Stars. As you will see, the quality of performance was outstanding, and it is a joy to see our students enjoy performing to their loved ones.

To view the video, please click this link and enter the password JMF_2023. Please do not share this link.

Junior Piano Competition

On Monday afternoon, I was enthralled by the quality of musicianship on display at this year’s Junior Piano Competition.

In the wonderfully fitting Edwards Auditorium on the Senior Campus, our talented pianists delighted the captivated audience with their skill and guile.

Well done to all of the students involved; it was an absolute highlight of my week.

Overall Winner:          Sienna Lepone (Yr 3)

Community Connections

We were thrilled to welcome nearly 70 parents this week for this term’s parent topic talk, A Flight Plan to Resilience: Guiding Your Little Pilot through Turbulence in Life. I am grateful to our expert team of Junior Campus School Counsellors who prepared and led the session which focused on how to encourage the development of resilience in our children.

Slides from the session have been uploaded to Pulse for parent access and reference.

Grandparents and Special Friends Day

We are looking forward to welcoming grandparents and special friends of our students to campus tomorrow. In preparation for this event, we would like to provide you with essential details to ensure a seamless and enjoyable day for everyone involved.

Please inform all guests which class your children are in. This crucial information will enable us to efficiently guide guests to the appropriate classrooms or designated meeting areas.

For Guests joining during the Morning Tea:

• Entry will also be through the Prep School Reception.
• A designated meeting area will be set up on the Oval, where students will be grouped according to their grade e.g.: Year 4, awaiting their guests.

For Guests joining during the Junior School activities:

• Access to the campus will be through the Junior School Reception.

Mosman Youth Awards in Literature

Congratulations to Bertram Haines (Yr 5) who was awarded 2^nd place in the prestigious Mosman Youth Awards in Literature for 2023.

This was announced at the ceremony itself which Bertram attended with his family.

Lost Property

We currently have a number of Junior School nearly-new items of clothing that are unnamed. If you have lost anything that may be unnamed, please see Mrs Fairfax in the Junior School office so that she can assist you, as these items have been stored separately.

There are also tubs of unnamed lunch containers which can be located outside near the play equipment next to the Parkes Building, where we are building an outdoor Lost Property storage cabinet. It would be greatly appreciated if you could spare some time to come and claim items that may belong to you.   

Uniform Shop

Winter Uniform Clearance – 30% Off Selected Items

As we will be introducing our new Redlands uniform in 2024, we are having a Winter Uniform clearance sale with 30% off the following range, whist stocks last:

• Blazers
• Knitted Jumpers
• Girls Skirts
• Girls Blouses
• Boys Long Sleeve Shirts

Online Orders

Thank you to parents, carers and students for your prompt collection of online orders. Just a reminder to that there are some online orders that still need collection. 

Opening Hours

The Uniform Shop will be closing at 4pm on Thursdays until further notice. 

Mr Ari Guha
Head of Junior School 
aguha@redlands.nsw.edu.au
9953 6022